Kyadun

In the chilly recesses of the Dim Periphery there exists an expansive city made of stone. Houses float, static in the air, and kobolds can be seen leaping meters upon meters to and thro. Vizards are all over, and floating in the exact center of the city is a building, exquisitely chiseled and made entirely from deep crystal. That mithril building holds the shrine to Thousand-Claws, the totem that presides over the grand city of Kyadun.

Demographics

75% kobold, 15% dark elf, 5% duergar, 5% other.

Government

Kyadun boasts the biggest, and possibly only, atheistic theocracy. The entire city is run by the Prima Sampa, or, loosely translated, Prime Seneschal. The Prima Sampa’s chief duty is to tend to Thousand-Claws, along side a small group of other Sampas, or seneschals. They monitor the totem, keeping a wary eye for a buildup of bad luck, as well as commune with it much how a druid communes with nature itself. The Sampas don’t make contact with any god or hypothetical totem spirit, but rather attune themselves with the flow of luck within Kyadun, tapping into a mystical web that binds all Dunites together.
With this knowledge, they direct the rest of the city. Opy, loosely translated to ‘guardians’, carry out these directives, ensuring that no taboos are broken and that general law is upheld, though the two go hand in hand. Below the Opy are regular guards, who merely keep the peace, and report to the Opy if they see any breaking of taboos. A staggering 5% of the population function in some sort of enforcement capacity, whether it be the righteous Opy, who have carte blanche to enforce the will of the Sampas, and thus Thousand-Claws himself, or the standard city guards. All citizens are expected to comply with the practices and taboos, or risk expulsion or even execution. While committing a taboo once can be forgiven after atoning by following some practice, repeat offenders are excommunicated.
While a foreigner might see Sampas as nobility, or less flatteringly, as tyrants, they are bound by the same duties that empower them. Though Thousand-Claws is not directly accessible by the vast majority of the population, it’s well known that taboos rarely change. The kobold’s innate sense of the tides of luck means if the sampas got too carried away in perverting the practices and taboos for their own gain, the populace would begin to catch on before too long. Thus, the role of Sampa is not that of a king or baron, but of a guide.
A council, formed by representatives from each district, handles laws that aren’t related to practices or taboos. Each representative can be superseded by their respective Sampa, who is chosen by the Prima Sampa, and the decision of the council as a whole can be overruled by the Prima Sampa if it violates a taboo.

Defences

Kyadun is built from the cave ceilings downward, which provides a high degree of natural defense. Getting to the city requires navigating to a pocket of no gravity and floating up, exposing would-be assailants to all manner of attacks before they even arrive. Thus, where most cities would have walls, Kyadun has a ceiling – or floor, depending on one’s perspective. The abjurers of the city lend their aid in defense of the city when a particularly nasty monster, such as a purple worm, attacks, alongside a standing guard of approximately 1000 ranged units, and if the need arises, 300 close combatants. The premier amongst these are dark elves, specifically those with a natural-born affinity for the blade.

Industry & Trade

Kyadun is a mining city. Founded near an immense vein of deep crystal, Kyadun has several trade routes leading out, the most notable one connecting to the far-off Fallencrest. Kyadun also exports gems, particularly emeralds, rubies, and sapphires, as well as a smattering of other jewels. Dunites also export their crafts, though this market is limited, as dark elves can rarely use items designed for the kobold physiology.
Kyadun has a wealth of diviners and abjurers, who help their clients discover their individual taboos and practices, and offer protection against bad luck, respectively. Weapon-smithing is another popular trade, due to the dangers that lurk in the Dim.
Kyadun has plenty of natural minerals and gems at its disposal, but it severely lacks food. Only about two thirds of the food in Kyadun is locally grown, and with no immediate access to natural preservatives, stockpiling is a pipedream. Thus, Kyadun exchanges its material riches for sustenance.

Infrastructure

Being situated below and a bit wrymward of the Eminent Territories, and isolated by several miles of rock, the technical advancements of Sedden never reached Kyudun. Instead, several teleportation circles lead from one part of the city to another for quick transport. The city, despite its prodigious population, is not very dense. Dunites often hop from stalactite to stalactite to get around, following platforms and bridges in the air when the jump is too large to comfortably cross. People can be seen simply flying through city at all hours, having launched themselves off a ledge several hundred feet back. In order to avoid crashing into one another, a signaling system is used to indicate when it’s safe to proceed. This system is unique to Kyadun and nearby settlements.
Inside the cavernous part of Kyadun, citizens simply walk or teleport; there is little public transport, due to a lack of suitable beasts of burden or mechanical replacements.

Architecture

Kyadun is largely built into the ceiling of the Dim; few structures extend past the natural stalactite formations. The bulk of Kyadun is built like an anthill, making it slightly claustrophobic for those larger than kobolds. Their architecture favors curves, with elaborate pillars upholding the expansive caverns of public areas. In order to avoid stronger gravity, and to avoid a cave-in destroying layers upon layers of city, Kyadun is built out rather than down, and away from the Source 
The upper class of Kyadun – Sampas, Opys, and successful artisans – inhabit structures built in the air, floating away from the rest of the city. The abundance of burrowing creatures means the air is actually the safest place to be thanks to the protective ceiling. All buildings in this part of Kyadun follow strict building guidelines, and are expected to be works of art unto themselves, as they are visible from the rest of the city. Symbols of prosperity, luck, and health are inscribed all over, and each floating building doubles as a charm that protects Kyadun.

Alternative Name(s)

Scale Crag

Type

Large town

Population

19000

Inhabitant Demonym

Dunites

Location under

The Dim Periphery/Outer Fringe

Housing Mechanics

Demand: High
Land Quality: Squalid-Wealthy
Possible Docks: Planar
Special Rules: Kyadun has no special housing rules.